It's not as though I actually have a problem with older drivers! I have no serious problem with people who drive with one-or-the-other of their blinkers on all the way from their drive way to their destination. It is not as though I can't pass someone who decides that they want to drive down the interstate at 45.
What I do have an issue with is those drivers who are obviously operating under the influence of stupidity. Like the Old Dear that nearly ran me off the road yesterday TWICE! It probably wasn't entirely her fault. What really irritated me was the she did it to me twice in the space of 100 yards!
As I was leaving work I encountered the old dear, who was driving a vehicle way too big for her, at the first traffic light. (Though, at this point, I hadn't yet actually noticed the old dear. It was just another humongous red SUV in the inside lane.) As we went through the intersection, she (without signaling) changed lanes into the lane I was in. It wasn't immediately she just sort-of drifted into my lane until she was in it, shoving me over into the verge. I almost hit the curb trying to get over so she could get over into my lane.
I let it go, looking over, at the driver I saw her for the first time, a sweet old thing. But that vehicle was far too big for her! She looked like Dr. Ruth trying to drive a Hummer! I just shook my head and returned my attention to driving. Then, not fifty yards on, she did it again. I caught it in my peripheral vision, that big expanse of burgundy metal drifting into my lane!
There was nothing I could do. There was no breakdown lane for me to get into, only a curb and then a tree-studded slope down to a lake. I laid on my horn. If she was going to hit me, I wanted her to know she was going to hit me! The result? She turned on her right turn indicator!
I hit the horn again and this time I gunned it to try and get out of her way (her headlamps would have hit my driver's door had she completed her lane shift). She seemed to see me for the first time. She overreacted and jerked the wheel left and slammed on her brakes. She came to a dead stop in-between my lane and hers, straddling the line, effectively blocking both.
She looked at me sheepishly and gave me a wan smile, a little wave, and then pulled in behind me. I continued through my turn and went to merge onto the interstate. The last I saw of her was in my rear-view mirror. She was still sitting at the last corner stopped and looking to see if she could merge (even though it was a protected turn with a continuing lane) I half wonder if she will still be sitting there this morning when I get to the office.
Speaking of which, I had best get to the office. Wherever you are today, I hope your day is excellent!
Don Bergquist – May 08, 2008 – Lakewood, Colorado, USA
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